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Alexey D Muraviev

Over the past two weeks, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin staged a major diplomatic blitz. Across three events in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East and New Delhi, India, as well as a state visit by Vietnam’s leader, he met some 18 heads of state.
Among them were the leaders of heavyweights of the Global South such as China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Turkey, just to name a few.
The Ukraine war certainly featured in these conversations. Russia has recently ramped up its attacks, further fuelling some fears in the West that Ukraine could end up losing the war.
Tellingly, however, the main thrust of discussions led by the Russian president had a different focus: fuel, trade and transit.
Here’s why Russia is deepening ties with many partners in the Global South – and what these meetings tell us about the impacts of Western efforts to isolate Putin.

Fuel and energy
Fuel and energy security is becoming a mutual concern for both Moscow and its partners in the Global South. Ukraine’s deliberate offensive campaign targeting Russia’s oil refining capacity has resulted in noticeable fuel shortages in the country.
It has forced the Russian government to import refined fuel from countries it has traditionally exported to, such as Belarus, Turkey and India.
At the same time, the Kremlin continues to push for the expansion of its energy exports. This includes finalising the contract to build the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which intends to deliver 50 billion cubic metres (1.77 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas annually from Russia to China via Mongolia.
Last week, Russia also signed a deal to establish a new strategic oil reserves hub in Vietnam.
Moscow is also expanding cooperation on nuclear power, which was part of the discussion agenda with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vietnam’s President To Lam (during his state visit to Russia), and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Deeper ties
The ongoing sanctions war between Russia and the West has made its economic and trade relations with the Global South pivotal for the country’s survival and future development.
Two friendly interstate bodies, in which Russia plays core roles, are becoming especially important. The first is Brics, a group of 11 economies comprising Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
The Brics economies now account for about 40 per cent of global gross domestic product. Last year, mutual trade turnover between Brics member states exceeded US$1 trillion for the first time.

The second is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. This is a political and security bloc spanning countries in Europe, Asia and the Indo-Pacific. According to Putin, Russia’s trade turnover with the SCO exceeded US$400 billion in 2025.
Overall, Asia accounted for 73.4 per cent of Russia’s trade turnover last year. It’s no surprise that Moscow’s trade links with Asia featured in almost every conversation in Bishkek, Vladivostok and Delhi.
Bypassing disruption
Despite its friendly ties with Iran, Russia and its clients aren’t immune from the ongoing disruption to transport and trade routes through the Middle East. To mitigate these risks, Russia is actively lobbying two relatively new transcontinental transit networks.
The first is the 7,200km (4,470-mile) combined rail-road-maritime International North-South Transport Corridor. This route connects Russia’s Baltic Sea ports with Mumbai in India, via the Caspian Sea and Iran.
Russia reportedly discussed this route with the Indian and Iranian delegations this month.
The second is the 5,600km (3,480-mile) maritime Northern Sea Route, which connects Asia’s ice-free ports with Russian and European ports as part of a maritime passage across the Arctic Ocean.
In August, Beijing launched commercial operations along this route for the first time.

Political signalling
Russia walked away from this month’s diplomatic blitz with some clear wins. In addition to securing US$7.7 billion worth of investments in Vladivostok, along with some lucrative deals with Vietnam, Putin could also claim some political success.
First, although challenging at times, Putin’s interactions with his counterparts showcased how Moscow’s relationship with major non-Western international players remains a geopolitical constant, even in the fifth year of the Ukraine war.
For leaders of emerging centres of global influence, whether India’s Modi, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto or Vietnam’s Lam, interacting with Russia forms part of their countries’ foreign policy approach based on the notion of “strategic autonomy”.
This sends a powerful signal to the United States and its allies, amid the latest round of high-level consultations involving the CIA and US Treasury chiefs and their Russian counterparts.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump sent his own personal envoys to Moscow and made a follow-up phone call to Putin.
Second, Russia and its core partners in Asia jointly signalled they would continue to maintain strategic partnership links. This includes the question of importing Russia’s fossil fuels, nuclear power and other goods, and exporting processed fuel back to Russia.
Fuel security is particularly relevant to the Russian authorities’ attempts to stabilise the domestic situation. The Kremlin is under pressure to mitigate the aftershocks of the escalating war with Ukraine amid coming parliamentary elections from Friday to Sunday.

Concerns persist
Still, many in the Global South remain concerned about the growing impact of what seems to be becoming a forever war in and over Ukraine.
The latest round of tit-for-tat attacks against merchant shipping in the Black Sea triggered fears of grain and wheat shortages.
In mid-November, China will host the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. This is tipped to be a possible venue for the first trilateral meeting between Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump.
Here, Moscow might feel increasing pressure to settle the war by political means from its partners. These countries don’t want to feel the effects of the sanctions war between the West and Russia, let alone be dragged into it.
Alexey D Muraviev is senior research fellow at the School of Arts and Humanities at Edith Cowan University. This article was first published by The Conversation.




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Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin waves while boarding a plane upon his departure from India on September 13. Photo: Kremlin/Sputnik/EPA

Cars queue to refuel at a Rosneft petrol station in St Petersburg, Russia, on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on September 1. Photo: Reuters

Putin and Vietnamese President To Lam during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on September 9. Photo: EPA

A resident collects the remaining food items from her house destroyed during a Russian air strike in the frontline city of Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Prabowo-Putin payoff: can bond between Indonesian, Russian leaders translate to gains?

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Wednesday. Photo: Sputnik / EPA

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto attend the plenary session at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Thursday/ Photo: Roscongress Foundation / AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin bids farewell to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto following their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 13. Photo: Sputnik / EPA

Has India’s Modi found new mediator clout after talks with Putin, Iran?

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Monday. Photo: EPA

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian during a meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Tuesday. Photo: Iranian Presidency / AFP

Damage is seen at a building that Iranian media said was hit in a US strike in Kuhestak, southern Iran, early on Wednesday. Photo: Tasnim News Agency via AP

Will Putin’s Kuril Islands visit push Japan closer to Ukraine?

Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (right) and his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga pose after a signing ceremony in Tokyo on July 1. Photo: AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko (right) at an airport on Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands, last Thursday. Photo: Sputnik/Kremlin/AP

Akira Muto, Japan’s ambassador to Russia, arrives at the foreign ministry in Moscow on Tuesday after being summoned over Japanese officials’ criticism of Putin’s Kuril Islands visit. Photo: AFP

A drone view shows vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam in Oman on June 15. Photo: Reuters

Vladimir Putin oversees the final stage of naval drills off far eastern Sakhalin Island near Japan from onboard a Russian guided missile on August 12. Photo: AFP

Subaru brand cars prepared for export are seen parked at Kawasaki Port in Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture on Monday. Photo: AFP

An LNG tanker ship is seen moored at a terminal in Japan’s Chiba prefecture on July 22. Japan imports roughly 9 per cent of its LNG from Russia. Photo: AFP

Myanmar’s president heads to Moscow seeking Russian arms and oil

Myanmar’s President Min Aung Hlaing waves as he boards a plane bound for Russia on Monday. Photo: Myanmar’s Presidential Press and Information Bureau / AFP

Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing embraces Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow in March 2025. Photo: AFP

A Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft releases flares during a ceremony in Naypyidaw to mark Myanmar’s Armed Forces Day in March 2024. Photo: AFP

Burning houses are seen following reports of military shelling with heavy artillery in Chin state, Myanmar, in September 2021. Photo: The Chinland Post/EPA-EFE

Vote counting takes place on January 25 in Yangon for Myanmar’s general election. Photo: Kyodo

This Week in Asia

Opinion

Asia Opinion

Far from being isolated, Moscow’s relationships across the non-Western world are a geopolitical constant the West cannot break


Far from being isolated, Moscow’s relationships across the non-Western world are a geopolitical constant the West cannot break.


Russia

Diplomacy

India

Global South

South Africa

Brazil

Malaysia

Turkey

Middle East

Egypt

Iran

Saudi Arabia

China

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Indonesia

United States

Ethiopia

Vietnam

Narendra Modi

To Lam

Prabowo Subianto

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Far from being isolated, Moscow’s relationships across the non-Western world are a geopolitical constant the West cannot break

Far from being isolated, Moscow’s relationships across the non-Western world are a geopolitical constant the West cannot break